Q?s for those who went from really long to a buzz cut

[Fiercemama]

My hair is down to the middle of my back, and I'm 95% ready to take it off. I have a few questions for any mamas out there who've done the same.

Part of my reason for doing this is to be able to totally cut and care for my hair myself. I am looking to have my hair VERY short, cut with clippers, but long enough to have colour IE not having my scalp showing through. Any advice about buying clippers or using them? I've taken a quick look at prices on them, and there seems to be a very wide range.

What to do with the hair. I have been planning to donate the hair to Locks of Love, which uses the hair to create wigs for kids. Someone mentioned the possibility of selling my hair. I am considering this as there are some causes in my life that could really use the money, and it may serve more people.

Has anyone sold hair? Know anything about that? My hair has never been treated, is extremely healthy, no grey, I only wash it about once or twice a week.

[Niamh]

Mine missed the length cut-off for Locks of Love.

I shaved my head last NYE. Went down to 1/4 inch, then completely bald, just for the experience, then stayed at 1/4 inch for awhile. It was a wonderful length - easy to care for, looked good.

I just used my husband's clippers - that worked well enough for me.

Good luck with your choice!

[julieanne]

I donated my hair to locks of love, so I don't know about selling. One thing that's nice is that there are salons that will give you a free cut if you are donating. That can be helpful, because the initial cutting is a little more of a pain than maintenance since it helps a lot to cut it short with scissors first. Plus, then they can take care of sending it in as well.

I've mostly used the $7 cheapy clippers and they've worked great. I've had two of these (only because I started using the first one on the dog and needed a new one for me after that) and never felt the need for anything more expensive. The kit came with all the guards and the little cleaning tools and some oil, so that's all I needed. Some slightly more expensive kits come with a mini-trimmer (like a mustache trimmer) which is helpful for around the ears and the neckline. The most important thing is to keep the clippers oiled, or it starts catch your hair and pull, which is no fun. Enjoy your new hair!

[sedalbj]

not sure how thick your hair is, but i can speak about using clippers on DH's hair. we used the cheaper clippers for a while but they got dull quickly. he invested in one of the nice ($80?) stainless steel ones, and it takes 1/2 the time to cut his hair because i don't have to go over missed spots more than once.